With the exception of 1992 when they took out my boys, I considered myself a Duke guy. I liked most of the players, liked their approach to the game (even as I revelled in the Fab Five), and liked Coach K. That changed somewhat when I found out that K was supporting W, even as Dean Smith down the road was fighting to end the death penalty in NC. But still, K has done an admirable job in building an institution like Duke.
Note that I didn't say, build a strong athletic program at Duke...because the impact he has had on Duke has been far more significant.
So when it turns out that he is considering coaching the Lakers, what are we to think?
Most of the folks I've read focus on either "new challenges" or on being able to provide for his kids' kids. 40 million is nothing to scoff at...and as I grow older I recognize the important role of setting goals in staving off senility and ennui...but both of these accounts miss the mark. Kobe isn't all that important either.
Want to know what happened this week?
Duke installed a new President.
What he decides to do will make K's decision for him.
Duke's political science department is now one of the top ten in the nation. A number of factors come into play, and of course this stuff is even fuzzier than the Coaches College Basketball Poll...but usually some combination of faculty productivity (measured by number and quality of publications), peer assessments, and graduate student placement all play a role. I am fairly positive that if we were to trace that ranking over time (as well as the rankings of other prominent departments) that ranking would rise as Duke's basketball program rises.
The more successful the basketball program is, the more money donors give. The more students beg to get into Duke--increasing its ability to be selective, and charge more for tuition. The more money the institution has to spend on infrastructure and on human capital, the better the school is, the better the individual departments within the school are.
The former President of Duke realized this, giving K a lifetime gig at Duke as well as the title of Special Assistant to the President.
I'm thinking the new President may be loathe to give a basketball coach the same type of power and deference as his successor. The fact that K is thinking about the Lakers (and I'm not all that sure the gig would be a step up except for the pay) is an indicator that he's not sure about the President either.
Posted by at July 3, 2004 10:05 AM | TrackBack